Dow off 15
before Fed meeting

NEW YORK -- Stocks struggled today, ending mixed, amid new hints of inflationary pressure that came just a day before a key Federal Reserve meeting on interest rate policy.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 14.93 to 7,672.79. In the morning, the blue-chip barometer slid by more than 75 points after surrendering a 25-point gain, making it the sixth straight session with a 100-point swing in the Dow.

Advancers outnumbered decliners by a 7-to-6 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,535 up, 1,313 down and 546 unchanged. NYSE volume was 561.40 million shares vs. 469.73 million on Friday.

The Standard & Poor's 500-stock list fell 2.15 to 885.15, and the NYSE composite index fell 0.86 to 462.44. The Nasdaq composite index rose 3.92 to 1,442.07, and the American Stock Exchange composite index rose 2.50 to 622.57.

Technology shares and smaller-company issues provided some leadership for an afternoon rebound, but the blue-chip sector faltered over the final half hour of trading, pulling several market measures into negative territory.

Stocks were pressured all day by a weak bond market, where interest rates rose amid signs economic growth may be accelerating.

The Commerce Department reported that new home sales shot up 7.1 percent in May, well ahead of expectations. And a Midwest trade group reported a sharp increase in factory activity during June in that key manufacturing region. But the Commerce Department said consumer spending rose a modest 0.3 percent in May, soothing some of the inflation jitters.